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1959 Volnay by Arthur Barolet : The vintage label for this bottle was missing unfortunately, but it comes from a cellar where we bought several bottles and this was kept in the same alcove as the other bottles which still had their 1959 vintage slip so we were quite sure this also was a 1959. Dr Art...

1959 Coteaux du Layon by Moulin Touchais

This producer too is legendary, known for producing excellent, mostly sweeter wines from late harvested chenin blanc that sometimes matures for decades before being released. In the glass the wine is opulent and viscous, shiny light caramel colored with an...

1975 Château Montrose -  The slightly lower level and age clearly showed in the color, a dark mahogany that didn’t forecast a lively, vibrant wine. First impressions were cloves and some vegetal tones like geranium, shortly after followed by venison with a tinge of perfume I can only describe as gra...

1970 Canon La Gaffelière : a very Top Shoulder but here the color was much lighter red with a pomegranate edge. Right after opening and pouring it gave off a whiff of a brand new beach ball, that scent of plastic or vinyl that I sometimes find in older Cabernets. As soon as this dissipated we were r...

1964 Troplong Mondot - with a level a bit lower than perfect (Very Topshoulder) and a cork completely saturated and spongy this was quite a challenge, see pic. In the glass, this was dark and concentrated claret, almost auburn with not much of red left in it, which was actually one of the only thing...

The 1959 was a Gevrey Chambertin from la Reine Pédauque.With the level well below the vintage label, some 9 or 10 cm below the cork, I guessed this to be a challenge from the start. The cork twisted round in the neck when I tried to open the bottle, then started to come up and just the last ½ cm bro...

The bottle of 1964 was Chambolle Musigny “les Bonnes Mares” from Bouillon et Roussin. Not sure what to make of this : quite an unknown producer and given a “lieu-dit” name of a grand cru which added to the confusion. Slightly better level here at about 6 or 7 cm’s below the cork. It had a dark brick...

From 1966 we opened a bottle of Chambolle Musigny. A simple appellation communale but from a great year and made by the producers who own the famous Clos de Tart - Mommessin. Here the cork had descended most of the way down the neck and  was covered in mold, but luckily enough it was still solid and...

1969 Nuits St Georges Les Damodes made by Henri Remoriquet, a premier cru from a good dependable producer and a top vintage as well. The level was sort of ok : 3 or 4 cm below the capsule.Not below the cork here because it too had descended most of the way down the neck and was only clinging on by h...

The first Monday after epiphany is traditionally ‘verloren maandag’ in Belgium and specifically here in Antwerp. This is usually celebrated by eating warm sausage rolls and an apple in puff pastry. Of course we were not going to eat this without the proper wines to accompany this.

First up was a ...